The walk from Berceto to Pontremoli may have been both my most challenging day on the Via Francigena and my favorite day. It started at 5:00 a.m. walking into the mountains by headlamp, and it ended at 5:00 p.m. when I checked into a castle for the night in Pontremoli. The 12 hours in between were filled with challenging climbs and descents of three summits, breathtaking scenery, encounters with wildlife, and a day on an ancient road by myself – except for the ghosts of the pilgrims, merchants, and armies who have used the road to cross over the Cisa Pass for over 1,000 years.
Early start from Berceto
As I headed up Monte Valoria, the morning mist moving in over the mountains from the west obscured the sunrise, but it provided its own magic. The crackling sound you may hear toward the end of the video is from a power line above me that the fog seemed to activate.
Wild horses?
My guidebook had said to be on the lookout for herds of wild horses that roamed the mountain, so I was pretty excited to see this herd just a few yards ahead of me in the fog near the top of the mountain.
As I watched them, though, I realized a couple of them had bells on, and they seemed quite comfortable with my presence, but it was still cool to walk through them.
A hundred yards beyond the horses, I reached the summit of Monte Valoria, but the fog kept me from enjoying the promised 360-degree views.
As I descended the other side, the fog began to clear.
At the top of the pass, the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Guardia provided a great morning rest stop.
The pass also marks the border between the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, which is what the gateway in the photo above signifies.
The trail then descended the mountain through a beautiful forest, where I spotted a deer.
A brief nature moment…
This is a spring dor beetle (a dung beetle), which I learned utilizes celestial navigation to help it steer a straight path as it rolls its ball of dung. Before rolling the dung ball away, the beetle climbs to the top of the ball and performs a slow spin during which it scans the sky and records a snapshot of the sky’s layout to orient itself.
I then climbed to the summit of the second mountain of the day, Il Cucchero, with spectacular views all around.
Just below the summit, I was surprised to find the world’s largest park bench.
After descending the mountain, I crossed a suspension bridge, which had a lot more swing in it than I anticipated.
As I approached Pontremoli, I could see the Piagnaro Castle on the hill overlooking the town, which is located at the foot of the Apennines at the confluence of the Magra and Verde Rivers. The castle dates to the year 1,000, and it now serves as a museum and an ostello, where I had a bed reserved for the night.
As it turned out, I believe I was the only guest (and occupant) of the castle that night, since the museum closed at 5:30 p.m., and the small staff went home. It was an odd feeling to have the run of the castle for the night, but since the front gate was securely locked, I felt pretty safe.
That evening in town, the local church was having a dinner on the grounds that I wish I could have joined.
Next up: Pontremoli to Filetto and then on to Aulla
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10 Responses
You had to really jump to get up on that bench. It looked pretty tall….😆
A great observation! I suspect they didn’t think about how tall the darn thing was when they designed and installed it because there is a tree trunk step ladder (an ingenious idea) on the side that allowed me to get up on the bench. Otherwise, it wasn’t going to happen!
These pictures are some of the very finest so far. Those folks eating & drinking on that narrow street must know plenty about each other. Those houses are so close, everyone could hear all that goes on in each home. The horses don’t seem too wild and they are well fed. What does an Italian cowboy look like? Take photo if you see one. There must be a story on the jumbo park bench. Looks like something a Texas oil tycoon would build. Seems every town has a beautiful old church and castle. They are all beautiful.
The views you enjoyed of the mountains were extra fine. I guess the Appenines are like the Smokey Mountains in the States. We’ve all slept in strange places during our lives, but alone in a 1000 AD castle is near the strangest
Good luck on the next 20 KM, Hoss
Stay in touch
I can only imagine how well people know each other in a small village like that. That could be simultaneously comforting and smothering. I suspect it’s both from time-to-time.
As you suggested, I don’t believe those horses are wild because they were so healthy and so relaxed with me.
I’m looking for the story on the park bench, but, apparently, it was installed since the last guide was published because that is something the guide would have mentioned. I’ll let you know what I find out.
The comparison of the Apennines with the Smokies is a good one, although some of the peaks I’ve seen in the last few days along the coast are pretty dramatic. They may not be that high relative to the Rockies, but since the coast is only a few kilometers away, they appear incredibly tall and jagged. I’ll be posting some photos of those in the next few days.
Charles:
The last couple of days: WOW!
Dave Miller
That was my reaction when I looked back on them. While you are in it, you are focused on getting over the next hill or finding water, and then at night you think about everything you experienced that day, and you realize it was a lot!
It has been said that a ‘man’s home is his castle.’ That is true…but in your case…Charles’ castle was his home…for one knight!
You win the Bad Pun of the Day award! But I do love a good bad pun!
I’m catching up since I’ve been away; also, I’m not a frequent commenter but I will contribute this link which seems likely to be the source project for the large bench. Glad to see you haven’t been waylaid by the heat and/or circumstances. Apologies if this is redundant and looking forward to the remainder of your epic account of your journey-Renny Glover https://bigbenchcommunityproject.org/it/homepage
I am so happy you found that! I would never have guessed there are 477 such benches scattered throughout Europe! What a quirky yet cool project. Thank you for sharing.